This invention relates to a combination of elements which enables users of bedding materials to accessorize and/or to decorate beds with more flexibility, ease and quickness, and less physical effort, than heretofore possible, particularly when used by the elderly, the very young or physically impaired persons.
More specifically, this invention relates to a removably attachable flat sheeting and skirting combination for use primarily with conventional beds and waterbeds, which sheeting and skirting combination is easily and quickly capable of assembly and disassembly. Thereby, once the flat sheet is placed into position, generally between a box spring and a mattress of a conventional bed, or between a flatboard and a water bladder of a waterbed, it remains in place for reception of a skirting material, that is, it remains dimensionally stable during use, and changes of the skirting material can be easily and quickly made without disrupting the position of the flat sheet, and without having to wrestle or grapple with the mattress, or the bladder.
Heretofore, it has been common practice, at home and in commercial settings, such as hotels, motels and the like, to employ a skirting material which is permanently attached by conventional means, such as sewing or bonding, to a flat sheet. Use of such permanently attached skirting materials requires one or more persons to wrestle with the mattress of a conventional bed or to remove the mattress in order to properly place and align the flat sheet and the permanently attached skirting material and then to adjust the mattress or to replace the mattress. Then, when it was desired to clean or to change the bed skirting, again, one or more persons had to wrestle with or remove the mattress while removing the skirting and flat sheet combination. And, generally with waterbeds, accessorizing with skirting materials has been overlooked, most probably due to their design and construction.
There are problems with the use of permanently attached skirting-flat sheet combinations on conventional beds, most notable being the effort required and/or expended to install and to change the same. The mattress is not only cumbersome to deal with, but the effort involved can be tiring and potentially injurious to those doing the installing and the changing of the same, including back, arm and shoulder strain, and the effort involved requires strength, endurance and the assistance of another, especially in commercial settings where many beds are present. There are additional problems with the use of permanently attached flat sheet-skirting combinations on waterbeds, most notable being the great weight of a water-filled bladder and/or the inconvenience and expense of emptying and refilling the bladder and other construction limitations inherent with their construction, when it is desired to install or change the same.
Skirting or dust cover accessories for conventional beds have been available for a long period of time, but such skirting or dust cover was permanently attached to a flat sheet, which flat sheet had to be positioned between a mattress and a box spring, both of which are supported by a frame structure, and the permanently attached flat sheet-skirting/dust cover combination requires considerable effort, dexterity and strength to position the flat sheet and to adjust the drape of the skirting/dust cover.
However, skirting or dust cover accessories for waterbeds have generally been unavailable, but of some attempts to employ a skirting/dust cover on waterbeds, direct attachment to the structural elements of the waterbed were tried in lieu of the permanently attached Flat sheet-skirting/dust cover combination, due most likely to the combination of non-conventional structural elements which typically comprise a platform or kickboard, a flatboard which rests upon the platform/kickboard, and a frame attached to the flatboard to contain a bladder filled with water, which bladder rests upon the flatboard.
Many times, once a permanently attached skirting-flat sheet combination was positioned in place between a box-spring and a mattress of a conventional bed, it stayed there on a rather permanent basis due to the effort and the inconvenience involved to make a change, resulting in soiled, frayed and outdated fabrics, patterns and colors being displayed. Generally, as stated above, permanently attached flat sheet-skirting combinations were not made available for use on waterbeds due to construction limitations thereof. The only means seen, regarding the use of a skirting on a waterbed, was a direct attachment of the skirting to the base of the waterbed, via glue, staples and other means, which become undesirable with use, due its inconvenient and non-aesthetic location of attachment and due to it being disturbed with use and/or due to separation of the glue and staples from the skirting or the base, causing sagging and disattachment and uneven drape of the skirting, not readily corrected by the consumer.
Up to the present time, the only means for installing, changing or removing permanently attached flat sheet-skirting combinations on conventional beds was to grapple with or to remove the mattress and to employ extra workers in commercial settings, and this was without substantial flexibility regarding accessorizing beds relative to the fabrics, colors and patterns available for the skirting material.